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 What did it look like when Lincoln and his son Tad watched a game
together? How would a favorite baseball hero look in a beard and
stovepipe hat? Would Lincoln cheer and do the wave if he attended a
modern game?
Kids can imagine all that or something completely different in their
art.
The deadline for submissions is Dec. 16. Winning entries will go on
display at the presidential museum in February, around the time of
Lincoln’s birthday.
Submissions must be on poster board 14 inches high by 11 inches wide
in portrait orientation (that is, taller than it is wide). They
cannot feature copyrighted characters such as Batman. More details
are available at bit.ly/ALPLMart2016.
Learning history is about more than memorizing dates and taking
tests. Producing art is a great way for students to connect with
historic events and consider their meaning. This art contest
connects to a baseball-themed exhibit the Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum will host next year.
The contest is open for students from kindergarten through the end
of high school. Winners and honorable mentions will be selected in
three categories: Grades K-5, 6-8 and 9-12.
Lincoln and the Civil War have numerous ties to baseball, or “base
ball” as it was still called back then.
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One amateur team played at a park near the White House, and Lincoln is said to
have watched some games, taking Tad at least once. The war helped make baseball
a national game by introducing it to soldiers who later took it back to their
hometowns. An early editorial cartoon portrayed Lincoln playing baseball with a
bat labeled "equal rights and free territory."
The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a division of the Illinois
Historic Preservation Agency, is dedicated to telling the story of America’s
16th president through old-fashioned scholarship and modern technology.
The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln books, documents,
photographs, artifacts and art, as well as some 12 million items pertaining to
all aspects of Illinois history. The museum uses traditional exhibits,
eye-catching special effects and innovative story-telling techniques to educate
visitors.
[Christopher Wills
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
Illinois Historic Preservation Agency]
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